Today I leave America. I am sad to go, more than I thought I would be, for it has been a joyful experience, and one far beyond my expectation. I shared my time here with people I love, which made it even more special.

I reached a point in my life where I felt as though I needed to meet people who were "further along" than I was in order for me to keep growing or evolving as a person. In truth, I would never encounter or experience growth the way I truly wanted with a mindset that led me to stay within my comfort zone, to continuously search outside of myself by playing it safe and keeping a closed mind to the opportunities, experiences or relationships that were right there in front of me. I was inevitably stuck within my own ways and limitations which in turn was limiting my growth. The longer I searched for this encounter or experience, the more I felt stuck, frustrated and disappointed and eventually became content with the idea of never finding those opportunities or meeting those people.

Have you reached a point in your journey where you felt lost, disconnected, confused, defensive, struggled to let others in, struggled to open up your heart and let your walls down?

You’re so unique and special and you maybe don’t even think about it. Think of the rarest thing in the world to you. Maybe it’s a handbag or a super car or a one of a kind signed piece of sports memorabilia. There are so many options depending on what you enjoy and personally think are special.

Sometimes I feel like an anomaly. I work a 9-5, run my own business, and spend my free time learning. I listen to world news podcasts, devour personal and professional development books, read up on the history of countries around the world, and spend my television time on shows that stimulate my brain.

The only person you should try to be better than is the person you were yesterday. ~ Unknown

Hello, I am Anti Clvtch. It's nice of you guys to drop by. I am an artist and brand owner, my Instagram is @anti.clvtch. If you would like to check out my page and watch my journey feel free to follow and keep tabs on the page. Now this acid box used to just be some complete and utter accident that I made the first day I decided to do a collage art-style, which is basically finding a bunch of pictures and making them come together to form something completely different or completely random. I choose to make it look psychedelic and trippy because I like making art that makes people just say "WTF" out loud.

Heyo guys! If you have ever played or watched Pokemon in your life, you might have realized what I'm talking about here. There is this giant Snorlax which sleeps in the middle of the road, blocking the path; and if you are playing it for the first time, then like me, you might have had no clue what to do, but you totally want to capture it... sorry to be the bearer of the bad news, but it's not gonna happen (unless you play some more and get a flute).

The words "morning routine" are all the buzz in the world of personal development these days. The most successful people are locked into their morning routines, and claim it is an important component of their success. People become obsessed with the morning routine of the successful people they look up to, but morning routines are not something that can be copied to achieve success. Morning routines need to be a personal journey for you in order for them to become a meaningful part of your day. However, there are three consistent actions that are required to help you start your day with success.

For me, acting always served a very specific purpose. When I first started, I couldn't have been more than 5 or 6, it was for pure, innocent joy. Relentless pleading from their boisterous and self-assured child left my parents with little choice, but to enroll me in acting classes. Then, around 12, my hobby turned into a career. This career would fill my days with acting classes and auditions. Days turned into years. There would be the occasional triumph, those fortunate moments when working meant going to set and earning a paycheck. But more often than not, working meant class, practice, audition, repeat. It wasn't until more recently in life, when the realities of adulthood brought forth new and unfamiliar experiences, that it came to serve yet another distinct purpose.

We've all felt the sting of being let down, frustrated, unfulfilled, or not quite good enough in our lives and relationships. I have been guilty of having unrealistic expectations of others, wanting them to shower me with compliments, approval, and validation, sometimes even trying to control situations or outcomes in an attempt to get what I thought would make me feel good. It was a painful, exhausting way to live.

“The only thing that punk rock should ever really mean is not sitting ‘round and waiting for the lights to go green.” —Frank Turner

Am I doing enough?

An important part of maturing and becoming a fully functional adult is to keep your expectations in check and to manage them as to not conflict with what the reality of the situation is. Keeping your expectations in check is difficult to do but it is necessary in order to not let an oversized ego, or arrogance, or selfishness keep you from becoming the person you should be. One has to always be prepared for reality to not line up with our initial expectations. You can never really be fully certain of how things in life are going to shape up to be. A true sign of maturity is wishing for the best but understanding that you could be in for disappointment and setbacks even when you think that everything can turn out fine.

May we create a world of visionaries. A creative vision of the world. Full of the next Miguel Cervantes. Except this time it's you taking center stage of your own story.

My business is all about ghostwriting at the moment, and one thing I enjoy about one of my clients is the fact they're all about self-improvement. This has given me the opportunity to learn more about my niche and what sort of topics that are most important.

Publishing Triumph For Illiterate Self-Made Millionaire.

One of six children, Shirley Yanez was born and raised in poverty on a council estate in Leicester in the 1950s. She received no formal education, and would later discover that she was dyslexic. She would go on to use her innate confidence, unbreakable self-belief, and indestructible drive to escape her difficult start in life, finally reaching the top of the money and power mountain within the hyper-capitalist world of Wall Street and the City of London finance.

Sometimes I feel like an anomaly. I work a 9-5, run my own business, and spend my free time learning. I listen to world news podcasts, devour personal and professional development books, read up on the history of countries around the world, and spend my television time on shows that stimulate my brain.

There are some things I'm pretty good at.

Intention; does it govern result?

Today I leave America. I am sad to go, more than I thought I would be, for it has been a joyful experience, and one far beyond my expectation. I shared my time here with people I love, which made it even more special.

The past few days, my husband and I—as Amazon sellers—have been dealing with a customer beyond unreasonable. The several-question-marks-per-sentence, hate-you-even-though-you're-handling-everything-correctly-and-politely type. You probably know the kind!

When I was asked about where I saw myself in 5, 10 years time, a younger me would diligently answer ‘at university obviously!’ Higher education seemed like the only obvious course of action for a ‘gifted’ child such as myself. I always enjoyed academic success and therefore, to those around me, and even to myself, this could be the only sensible answer. However as I aged, and the future prospect of university suddenly changed into the present, preparing for university, reality set in. University was no longer some vague goal to waive away any actual foresight, decisions were to be made. What did I actually want to study? Where did I want to study? How much was this all going to cost? I had, and still have no idea what the answers to those questions are, and as my peers easily sailed through them it became increasingly obvious that my lifelong path was about to be derailed. I had some serious self evaluating to do. First, was the ‘where’ problem. I come from an island, there are no universities here so I must move away from my home wherever I was to go on the mainland. Second, was the ‘what’ problem. What was I actually going to study? It was no issue finding things I’d be good at, but finding things I’d enjoy? I was a teenager, I enjoyed sleeping more than any of my studies, I’d never taken a really serious interest in any subject and now I had to decide one to dedicate the next three to four years of my life to, at least? And finally, came the ‘how’ problem. How was I going to afford it? University is a massive financial burden to take on, I’d have to take out loans, and I don’t have a great relationship with my parents so I wouldn’t be able to rely on them for any support. So why should I take a financial gamble on a course I’m not sure I’m interested in, while having to live in a city I’ve never been too?

Have you reached a point in your journey where you felt lost, disconnected, confused, defensive, struggled to let others in, struggled to open up your heart and let your walls down?

I can’t remember when I decided I was a bad artist but I know it was before high school. Sitting in ASB at 17, painting footballs with the players' names on them, I loudly proclaimed that I was not a good artist and I never had been. I recently realized that was a lie.

This Past Summer

The only person you should try to be better than is the person you were yesterday. ~ Unknown

“…You know that story of the Russian cosmonaut?…He sees the curvature of the Earth for the first time…and he’s lost in that moment. And all of a sudden (he hears) this strange ticking...few hours into this, begins to feel like torture. A few days go by with this sound, and he knows that this small sound… will break him. He’ll lose his mind…So the cosmonaut decides…the only way to save his sanity… is to fall in love with this sound. So he closes his eyes… and he goes into his imagination, and then he opens them. He doesn’t hear ticking anymore. He hears music. And he spends the sailing through space in total bliss… and peace.”

Listen, I know how hard it can be for people to get out of bed, especially if you’re not a morning person. It’s tough. But, I’ve done a little research, and tried some of these tips out, and I’ve put together all of my favorites to help you not only wake up earlier, but to have a great morning as well.

I reached a point in my life where I felt as though I needed to meet people who were "further along" than I was in order for me to keep growing or evolving as a person. In truth, I would never encounter or experience growth the way I truly wanted with a mindset that led me to stay within my comfort zone, to continuously search outside of myself by playing it safe and keeping a closed mind to the opportunities, experiences or relationships that were right there in front of me. I was inevitably stuck within my own ways and limitations which in turn was limiting my growth. The longer I searched for this encounter or experience, the more I felt stuck, frustrated and disappointed and eventually became content with the idea of never finding those opportunities or meeting those people.

Today I'm going to be talking about how to write. I want to discuss writing as a form of self-care and self love. I want to use words to create pieces of writing to inspire others and help myself express my ideas, thoughts and opinions.

Take Control of Your Happiness

Princesses and fairy tales

The most painful part of a conversation with a millennial is the number of things that get abbreviated. Why must everything have an acronym assigned to it?

Today, social media has become an integral part of modern society. We use it for communication, or maybe for business. It helps us connect in a way we could have never connected before.

I remember, in high school, we were tasked with an assignment to write on the importance of electric cooperatives for a writing contest. The contest was, unsurprisingly, hosted by our local electric cooperatives (or electric company for those who don't know what that is) and the winner would get an all expenses paid trip to Washington, D.C., our nation's capital.

Something most, if not all of us youngsters, rarely seem to hear is how we still have time to achieve our goals in later stages of our lives. And it seems strange, but it almost feels as if everybody is in a hurry to make it to the top these days. I guess I should know, because like the majority, I shamefully feel the same way. Not because I'm a simple sheep following a herd. But purely because I fear that I will not make something of myself if I sit around and wait. So I cram in far too many sleepless nights and I work until my heart screams for me to stop. When really, all I need is for somebody to say to me, 'Hey, buddy. You've still got time'

It's the absolute strangest thing when you wake up every morning and you grab your coffee and you get ready for work everyday because you have bills to pay, you have a career in mind, and you desperately need insurance to see a doctor for that weird rash you got the other day. It's a strange time for those of us who just graduated high school because we spent the last 12 or so years in the comfort of our parents' homes and sitting behind a desk at school. Some of us are more prepared than others for these stressful years ahead, but some of us weren't as prepared as we thought we were.